Colts must keep up their inspired play but can they, asks Bob Kravitz

Oct. 11, 2012

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Colts receiver Reggie Wayne salutes fans cheering his name after he helped lead the Colts over the Packers 30-27. The Indianapolis Colts hosted the Green Bay Packers at Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday, October 7, 2012. Mike Fender / The Star / Indianapolis Star

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"I've got to go, Rock. It's all right. I'm not afraid. Some time, Rock, when the team is up against it, when things are wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, ask them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper. I don't know where I'll be then, Rock. But I'll know about it, and I'll be happy." -- Dying Notre Dame star George Gipper to Irish head coach Knute Rockne in 1925

Notice the quotation: Win just one for the Gipper.

It doesn't say anything about winning, say, four of the next five for the Gipper. Or seven for the Gipper. Or 10 for the Gipper.

Which raises some intriguing questions for the Colts as they head into Sunday's game against the battered and struggling New York Jets in New Jersey:

How long does inspiration last?

Can they carry last Sunday's emotion over to this coming Sunday, and all the other Sundays still to come on the NFL schedule?

There is no question the Colts are playing with a greater sense of purpose than ever before. They are playing for Chuck Pagano, who, thankfully, is living in a time when medicine can and will heal him. The Gipper contracted pneumonia before the days of antibiotics; he ultimately perished.

The Colts have a chance to write one of the great NFL stories of this season or any other season, playing with their head coach in their hearts.

We will get some answers, though, to the elemental questions this week and in the weeks beyond:

Who are these Colts really?

Are they a team that found magic in a bottle last Sunday and played well over their heads in their come-from-behind victory over the Green Bay Packers?

Or are they who many of us think they are -- a young, flawed, injury-riddled team who will be fortunate to win five, six, maybe seven games?

My guess is the latter is closest to the truth.

But for the sake of the story, I hope I'm wrong.

Last Sunday was so special, you want to see some more special Sundays follow.

Ultimately, we've got to remember, this is a young, rebuilding team, and this week at least, they'll likely be playing without Donald Brown, Joe Reitz, Robert Mathis and Fili Moala. As Marv Levy once said (I'm having a Bill Polian flashback here), you lose at least one game for every rookie you start. The Colts are loaded with rookies and first-year players. The offensive line is still being held together with duct tape. The secondary is still thin.

You get the point.

"We've established a standard of play," head coach Bruce Arians said recently. "Those last 30 minutes (against Green Bay), that's the standard we need to play to."

Did they play over their heads?

Or is it possible they're really better than most of us thought?

We will find out these next few weeks when they play in several winnable games -- at the Jets, Cleveland, at Tennessee, Miami and at Jacksonville.

If they can win three or four of those games, we're going to have to re-think all our expectations and views of this group.

They're got to bring the emotion. Again.

"It's a huge part of the game," said Cory Redding, one of the Colts' most verbally inspiring emotional leaders. "You've got to play with rage and emotion, but it's got to be controlled rage, with poise always being part of it. Every week, you're going into a fight, and you can never go into a fight calm and subdued.

"I think it's easy to bring that kind of emotion to every game. Not every guy is lucky enough to play this game. You have to recognize, every time you get a chance to play this game, it's a blessing. You should play with high emotion every time you step on the field."

The good news for the Colts this week is, the Jets are a mess.

If Indy's defense can make a few stops early, or get a quick lead, Jets fans will turn their ire on Mark Sanchez, who's nearly as unpopular in Gotham these days as Alex Rodriguez. When Fireman Ed loses faith, it's getting serious.

The Jets should be getting former Purdue tight end Dustin Keller back in the lineup, but their wide receiving corps is atrocious.

Monday night, head coach Rex Ryan was reduced to all kinds of trickery, using Antonio Cromartie at wide receiver, calling for fake punts, going for it on fourth downs, issuing on-sides kicks. The Jets have fallen a long way since the hardcore Ground and Pound days.

This is a tough call but a winnable game.

They've won one for the chuckstrong.

Although two would be nicer.

Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Contact him at (317) 444-6643 or via email at bob.kravitz@indystar.com. You can also follow Bob on Twitter at @bkravitz.